Jambalaya from the Pantry is a simple recipe. There is more than one way to dress up boxed jambalaya mix, but we chose this method for our Pantry Cooking Challenge. With the exception of a fresh yellow onion, this recipe is made entirely from shelf stable ingredients. I guess that, technically, an onion is a shelf stable item. It’s just not a long term food storage item. Don’t let the fact that this is made from long term food storage items fool you into thinking it’s bland. This Jambalaya recipe is loaded with flavor, and our family loved it.
What will you need to prepare this recipe?
From the Pantry
- Zatarain’s Jambalaya Mix
- Canned Corn
- SPAM
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Rice
From the Root Cellar
- Yellow, or White, Onion
We had originally planned to use chicken to make this recipe, but we have other recipes on this site that use canned chicken. They include:
- Chicken Chile Verde
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Chicken Linguine Alfredo
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Soup with Black Beans and Corn
- Chicken Taco Casserole
- Chicken Pot Pie
Obviously, canned chicken is well represented here at Patty Cake’s Pantry, so there was no need to use it for another recipe, but we inevitably will.
It was Baker’s Man who came up with the idea to use SPAM in our Jambalaya recipe. We had a single can on the shelf of our pantry, and I had plans to use it for something during our Pantry Cooking Challenge, but I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. With his suggestion, I agreed that this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use the SPAM.
Do you ever “doctor up” a box of Jambalay Mix? What do you think of our choices? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Jambalay from the Pantry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 (12 ounce) can SPAM cut into 1/2 inch cubes ($2.68)
- 1 medium yellow onion diced ($0.24)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes undrained ($0.55)
- 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn drained ($0.50)
- ½ cup long grain white rice ($0.09)
- 1 (12 ounce) box Zatarain's Jambalaya Mix ($2.08)
- 3¾ cups water
Instructions
- Heat oil in a very large, deep skillet or pot that has a lid.
- Add diced SPAM to pan and saute until it begins to brown a little bit.
- Add onion to the pan with the SPAM and sautee until onion becomes translucent
- Add can of diced tomatoes to pan with SPAM.
- Add drained can of corn to the pan with the tomato and SPAM mixture.
- Add 3 ¾ cups of water to pan.
- Add 1/2 cup rice and contents of the box of Jambalaya mix
- Mix well.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover pan and reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to sit with lid still in place for 5 minutes to allow rice to finish cooking and water to be absorbed.
- Serve.
Nutrition information was calculated for one serving of Jambalaya from the Pantry (approximately 1 1/4 cup or 1/8th of the recipe) prepared according to the recipe above.
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is calculated using online tools such as those available at cronometer.com or verywellfit.com. We make every attempt to ensure that this information is calculated correctly, but this information should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. In addition, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition-fact sources, databases, and the algorithms used. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful. Under no circumstances will PattyCakesPantry.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information provided.
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